How I Got My Book “How to Sketch” Published in Spanish | Liron’s Podcast 126

In this episode I’m talk about how I got my “How to Sketch” book published in Spanish, with a Spanish publishing house!

This is more of a “story time” podcast episode, so I’m REALLY curious to hear your thoughts on this one, and if you want more!

Independently Publishing Books

As you may know, I published multiple books independently on Amazon. This has proven to be one of my smartest career choices so far!

The book that probably did the best up til this point in time is “How to Sketch”. It hit bestseller on Amazon many times, and people seem to love it!

How I got my book published in Spanish

The main takeaway here is this: If you want something – YOU have to GO get it. You have to do most of the work.

I sent out hundreds of emails until I got my few “yes” responses.

This is especially true when you’re just getting started and no one really knows you.

If you can understand that, and put it to action, there are SO MANY THINGS you can achieve.

Conclusion

Once again, I hope you enjoyed this one. I’m really curious to hear your thoughts and if you want me to do more of these story time episodes, I have a lot I can share!

And also – if you enjoy these episodes – please please consider giving the podcast a rating and leaving a review 😊🙏🏼 It’s a huge help.

Thank you so much, and until the next time!

— Liron

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You Make It Look Effortless – Inspiration & Putting In THE WORK | Liron’s Podcast 125

Today we’ll talk about the inspiration provided by watching other people paint / create, and how they make it seem effortless.

This episode is formatted more as a discussion rather than as me telling you what to think (: I don’t have any answers, but I’m interested in these ideas around creativity and progressing as an artist.

A Comment I Get A Lot

So this was sparked by a comment I often get, mentioning how I make painting look easy or effortless.

What’s fascinating about this is how I ALSO had that feeling whenever I’d watch painters in work in the past.

And it’s great fun!

The Trap & 1 to 3 Rule

As an aside, I discuss how this can also be a trap, leading to this sort of “addiction” to watching videos instead of painting or creating yourself.

For this I recommend the 1 to 3 rule: for every hour you spend watching a video / other people create, be sure to spend 3 creating yourself.

Putting In The Time & Work

The key here is understanding just how much work is necessary to see significant improvement.

Growth can seem very small when looking at a short time frame of a year or a few months.

You want to, at the very least, measure your growth on a year to year basis. This takes time! (:

Your Language MATTERS

Another last note from my recent daily podcast episode – Your language and how you talk about yourself matters.

This is something to be mindful of. Notice every time you may belittle yourself or talk in a disempowering way (“this is impossible” or “I could never do that”).

People say these things casually like they don’t matter. Well, they do. These determine your reality. If you say it’s impossible, you really have no chance of doing it. You didn’t even allow for the opportunity to try in a way.

Conclusion

So these are my thoughts and 2 cents for the day! I hope this helps or at the very least entertains 😉

If you enjoy these episodes, I’ll also HIGHLY appreciate if you visit your podcast app / site and leave a rating + review. It really helps the show reach more people.

And let me know your thoughts about this topic.

Here’s how to reach out to me:

Instagram – @LironYanIL

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YouTube – Liron Yanconsky Art

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Contrast Is KING – Using It For BETTER ART | Liron’s Podcast 124

In today’s episode we’ll deeply discuss the concept of CONTRAST, and how you can use it in multiple ways to create MUCH better art and avoid beginners’ mistakes.

What is Contrast?

When I say “contrast” the first thing that may come to mind is probably VALUES, with contrast being the DIFFERENCE in them.

This means light and dark.

A high contrast will mean there’s a strong difference in values, placing both darks and lights next to one another, in order to create interest.

However, in today’s context I want us to look at contrast as the general idea of “difference”.

So actually – there can be contrast in MULTIPLE DIMENSIONS.

We can have contrast in temperatures (very warm and very cool colors). We can have contrast in size (larger vs smaller elements in the painting, that play a major role in its composition). And awe can also have contrast in edges, values (obviously) and many other dimensions.

Common Beginners’ Issue – Lack of Contrast

A very common issue I see among beginners is the lack of contrast in ALL dimensions.

This means the temperature is the same throughout the painting, the values aren’t clear and distinct enough, all the edges are hard and so on.

This leads, in my opinion, to a very boring impression that leaves a lot to be desired.

Alvaro Castagnet Examples

A great artist for observing some of these concepts is Alvaro Castagnet.

If you look at his work you’ll be able to catch contrast in just about every aspect.

Here’s an interesting example, and also one of my favorite paintings of his!

Notice just how much of a contrast (variety) of edges there is here.

He deliberately breaks off rigid and repetitive lines to create a more balanced sense of structure and flow. This is most obvious around the bridge and car in foreground.

Here’s another great one with contrasting temperatures – warm yellows and reds vs cool grays.

And lastly – notice how even when he eliminates colors almost completely – he makes sure to push the contrast of VALUES. The value contrast in this painting is way more dramatic than in the previous ones – and that is for a reason.

Contrast Technique & Studies

In order to be able to utilize contrast in a good way, there’s a certain awareness, understanding and technique gap that needs to be closed.

You need to understand why this is important, how it works and also how to achieve it technically (to control edges, for example, you have to learn how to control the complex medium of watercolor in multiple ways).

I just wanted to mention this as encouragement. Nothing is “wrong” with your results – you simply need to learn these ideas and the relevant techniques – and with time it will all connect to beautiful artworks.

General Updates

First and foremost – if you enjoy this podcast I would HIGHLY appreciate if you leave a rating on your favorite podcast platform, and perhaps even a review. It means the world to me and really helps in reaching more people.

And – here are the general updates I shared today:

  • I’m in contact with a major art-selling platform and we’ll hopefully do collaborative sponsorship soon 😊
  • My video on how to know what colors to use is doing really well! – Check it out here!
  • I’m making nice progress with the upcoming (100% FREE!) How to Simplify in Watercolor course! Here’s one of the paintings I’ll demonstrate there.

And that wraps it up for today!

Thank you so much for tuning in 😊🙏🏼

I’ll talk to you again real soon.

Here’s where to reach out to me:

Instagram – @LironYanIL

TikTok – @Liron.Yan

YouTube – Liron Yanconsky Art

LinkedIn – Liron Yanconsky

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Twitter – @LironYan

— Liron

UNDERSTANDING What You Draw & Paint | Liron’s Podcast 123

Today I want to share with you the concept of UNDERSTANDING your subject matter on a deeper level, leading to BETTER art, drawings and paintings!

Observation VS Construction

This is an idea I’ve been exploring and talking about lately.

Observing is all about drawing and painting it as you see it.

It doesn’t matter what it is.

Construction is all about understanding your subject matter, its structure (visible and underlying) and knowing how to portray it from multiple angles and in multiple arrangements, partially or fully from imagination.

Manga & Comic Art

The skill of understanding the subject, and mainly when it comes to the human figure, is something I MUST acquire to be able to draw my manga comic.

This is why I decided to go deep on anatomy and figure drawing, hoping it will pay off.

After learning some basic anatomy, I can fully see this applied to all of my favorite manga.

The artists have an EXCELLENT understanding of the human form, composition, volume and depth.

Conclusion

I think both approaches / methods are important – and should be studied together.

I worked a lot on observation, and now it’s time to focus a lot more on construction, understanding and KNOWLEDGE.

I hope you enjoyed this one!

Here’s where you can reach out to me online ^_^

Instagram – @LironYanIL

TikTok – @Liron.Yan

YouTube – Liron Yanconsky Art

LinkedIn – Liron Yanconsky

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Twitter – @LironYan